For some time now I’ve seen pictures of a bread called ‘fougasse.’ It’s a flat-ish bread (think pretzel), made with decorative slashes, and often made with other flavors in the dough or topped with herbs. To be honest, I’ve wondered what the appeal is of fougasse – why make something in that shape when I could have a whole loaf of bread? Well. I came across a recipe for sourdough olive fougasse and thought I’d make one to see what the fuss was all about. Turns out, there’s a reason for the fuss!
If you like soft pretzels, this has some similarities. There are thicker, soft and chewy parts, and there are some crunchy edges. Fougasse is great for sharing – pull it apart and dip it in olive oil! Or just devour it like I did. My kids, who are not all big fans of olives, even enjoyed it with kalamata olives. If you’d like to try it but aren’t a fan of olives, let me know when you order and I’ll leave them out of yours. Fougasse is wonderful in all sorts of varieties!
This weather has me itching to plant the garden. My tomato plants are giant but will have to wait until it warms up a bit more to go outside. Since my peppers didn’t all grow the way I’d hoped, I’ll head over to Rebel Farm when they’re selling seedlings to fill in any gaps. Hopefully most everything else will be planted directly, and we’ll hope for the best! Our apple trees and berry plants arrived this week; now to dig all the holes and settle them into their new homes. Phew!
Also available this week is my house sourdough. I make quite a few of these, so I have it down to a good rhythm. If you’re having dinner guests, or if you are a dinner guest, this a wonderful loaf to have on hand!
It’s a normal baking week next week with orders going out on Thursday to Hillsdale College, and Thursday and Friday at my home. Be sure to indicate your preferred pickup day and place when you order! And if you need to make a change to that, just let me know. I’m usually pretty flexible. Orders are open from Friday, April 12th – Tuesday, April 16th and payment is by cash, check, and cashapp on pickup, or by credit card when you order at hillsdalehearth.com.
Please let me know if you have any special requests or if you would like to order more of something I’ve made and you have especially enjoyed! With a bit of notice, I can usually accommodate most requests.